The Littlefield Lady Cats’ varsity basketball team won a big game at home on senior night, 36-30, to even the season series with Muleshoe at a game apiece, forcing a seeding game.
The Lady Cats close out the regular season with a mark of 21-10 overall, 9-3 in district play.
Kennadi Hanlin opened the contest with a three from the right elbow, off of the assist from Emily Champion, but with just under five minutes left in the opening quarter, Kyle Hernandez drained a three from the left wing to tie the game, 3-3.
With 3:14 to play in the opening quarter, Brookelyn Gau dropped in a lay-up off of the assist from Ashtyn Parker to regain the lead for Littlefield, 5-3. On the other end, Kylee Villa was fouled on an attempt by Madison McNeese. She converted both free throws to tie the game, and Natalie Ambriz followed it up with a spin to the basket for a lay-up to give Muleshoe their first lead of the game, 7-5.
Muleshoe took a time out with 1:30 remaining in the first quarter, and out of the break, Hanlin dropped in a floater from the right elbow off of the assist from Gau to tie the game, 7-7, as the first quarter came to a close.
Hernandez buried a three from the left elbow and followed it up with a lay-up off of a steal in transition, putting the Lady Mules in front, 12-7. With 3:43 left to play in the first half, Kendra Kelley took a charge on McNeese to give Muleshoe an extra possession, but with 2:36 remaining, Hanlin knocked down a jumper from the free-throw line, off of the assist from Huey to trim the lead to, 12-9.
Hernandez quickly answered with a three from the left wing, as Littlefield took a time out with 1:44 left to play in the half, trailing Muleshoe, 15-9. Out of the break, Mahalia Huey grabbed an offensive rebound, which led to Leilani Solis being fouled on an attempt by Tatiana Lawson. She converted both free throws to trim the lead to, 15-11, going into the locker room at halftime.
Hanlin dropped in a floater from the right elbow to open the second half and after a pair of missed free throws by Ambriz, she drove the lane, faking a pass to her left before dropping in a lay-up to push their lead back out to, 17-13. With 5:26 remaining in the third quarter, Ambriz dropped in a lay-up, drawing an and-one foul on Parker. She missed the free throw, and on the other end, Hanlin was fouled on an attempt by Hernandez. She split the attempts and on their next possession, Champion hit McNeese on a back-door cut for a lay-up to make it a three-point Muleshoe lead, 19-16.
Muleshoe took a time out with 3:44 remaining in the quarter, and out of the break, Solis dropped in a lay-up to cut the lead to one point, 19-18. With 2:40 left to play in the quarter, Littlefield took a time out to prevent a 10-second call, and out of the break, Hanlin picked up a steal and sprinted down the court for a fast-break lay-up to put Littlefield in front, 20-19, heading into the final quarter of play.
Ambriz knocked down a jumper to open the fourth quarter and regain the lead for Muleshoe, but on the other end, Gau was fouled on an attempt by Kelley and converted both free throws to give the Lady Cats a one-point lead, 22-21. Araceli Diaz split a pair of free throws on the next play to tie the game, 22-22, and Ambriz drew a block on Arianna Cruz, earning a trip to the free-throw line. She knocked down both free throws to make it a one-possession Muleshoe lead, 24-22, with 6:21 remaining in the contest.
With 3:55 left to play in the game, Parker was fouled on an attempt by Ambriz; she split the free throws to trim the lead to, 24-23. But, on the other end, Villa was fouled on the floor by Hanlin, earning a one-in-one opportunity at the line. She made the first and missed the second shot to make it a one-possession game, 25-23.
Hanlin picked up a steal and took it the other way for a fast-break lay-up to tie the game, but it was short-lived, as Ambriz drove to the basket for a lay-up on the right side to make the score, 27-25. Solis split a pair of free throws for Littlefield, and Juliana Diaz and Cruz each converted a pair of free throws for their teams, before Littlefield took a time out with 1:41 remaining, trailing by one point, 29-28.
Out of the break, McNeese was fouled on the floor by Ambriz in the double bonus and made one-of-two shots to tie the game, 29-29. On their next possession, Gau dropped in a lay-up, drawing an and-one foul on Araceli Diaz. She converted the free throw to make it a three-point Littlefield lead, 32-29.
Muleshoe took a time out with 48.3 seconds remaining, and out of the break, Littlefield closed out the game on a, 4-1, scoring run to take the con test, 36-30.
Hanlin led the team in scoring with 14 points, while adding six rebounds and five steals, and Gau tallied seven points, four rebounds and one block. Solis chipped in five points, three rebounds and one block, while Champion contributed four points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists, and McNeese added three points, five rebounds, one block and one steal.
Cruz chipped in two points, two rebounds and one steal, while Parker added one point, 10 rebounds and one assist, and Huey chipped in three rebounds and one assist. Barios finished with two rebounds in the contest.
The Lady Cats played a seeding game on Friday at Muleshoe against the Lady Mules. Results were not available at press time. They will play their Class 3A Bi-district contest next week.